Friends Forever
by SlyPieXD
Summary: After the gallery and everything has cooled down, Ib and Garry have met a lot since then, and are friends. But Ib is upset about Mary, and Garry can't forget the gallery. Through all they have been through, Ib eventually decides to go back to the gallery, no matter what Garry says. After the "Promise of Reunion" ending.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fan fiction, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's not very great. I'm sorry if it's a little long, because I don't usually divide my stories into chapters, and I guess I decided to stop each one with a twist at the end.**

**I don't own Ib nor the characters, no matter how much I wish to.**

"-8,9,10!"

Ib hopped on the last piece of the drawn hop-scotch square. She looked down her long and narrow driveway. _He's still not here, _Ib thought. _It's been 30 minutes…_

"Is Garry still not here, honey?" Her mother asked, crouching beside her.

She shook her head.

"Maybe he had a last errand to run."

She smiled at her daughter, and patted her head.

"It will be alright. We already called the hotel and told them we might be a little late."

Ib's dad grumbled as he came up beside them.

"I still have my eyes on that man,"

He said angrily.

"Honey," Ib's mother started, patting her husband's head, "we've met him many of times. I think that we can trust him with Ib."

Ib looked up, as a black suburban rolled onto the driveway. Ib smiled.

"Garry's here!"

She cried with joy. Garry had came to pick Ib up so that he could watch her for the next few weeks while her parents were off on vacation. Ib jumped up and down happily on the porch.

"Um, Ib?" Ib's mother started.

"Yes?"

Her mom pointed to the bucket of chalk. And Ib glanced over and looked at the chalk pieces spread out everywhere.

"Did you forget to put something up?" Her mother asked.

Ib sighed and grabbed the chalk pieces and placed them in the bucket. She then walked inside the garage to put it up.

"Nice to see you Garry," Ib's mother said, shaking his hand. Her husband eyed him suspiciously.

"Garry, we're entrusting you with the life of our daughter. If you do anything to hurt Ib at all," He made a fist, "you'll have to pay for it!"

Garry chuckled, and Ib's mom looked down in embarrassment.

"It's fine, Madam. I can see how any parent would be really overprotective at times."

Her smile returned, as Ib ran out the door with her suitcase.

"I'm ready to go!" She smiled happily up at Garry. He smiled back.

"You are?" He asked, crouching down to her level.

"Yes! I can't wait!"

Garry put her suitcase in the trunk, and walked back over to Ib. She hugged her parents, and said "goodbye" and "love you" to both of them.

"Love you,too!" Her parents replied, as they got in their car and took off.

"I wonder why they left before we left," Ib said, puzzled.

"It seemed they were a little late…" Garry opened the back door for Ib, but she refused to get in.

"What's wrong, Ib? Would you like to sit on the left side of the car?"

She shook her head, and pointed to the front seat door. Garry blinked a few times, then looked at Ib.

"You are very young, Ib. 9 year olds need to sit in the back."

She made a sad face, and was about to cry. Garry shut the door, and sighed. He opened up the front seat door, and lifted her into the car.

"Thank you, Garry!" Ib said, putting on her seat belt.

"I just hope that the police won't really care.." He said, still a little shocked by her decision.

When they got to the end of the driveway and started to drive off, Garry said something.

"Oh yes, Ib, if you don't mind, the car ride might be a little long. It takes an hour to get there, then I have to stop by the store, which may take 30 minutes or so, than an hour to drive back."

Ib looked at him, confused.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"I have to pick up my niece, Marilyn. I think you 2 may actually be great friends."

After a while, Ib got tired of the silence. She's been waiting to talk to Garry about it, but never found the time.

"Um, Garry?" Ib asked.

"Yes?"

Ib twiddled her fingers for a little bit.

"I know that it's not really best to talk about it, and I know that you said that it's over and it's okay now, But… I never really wanted to leave…"

Garry was confused.

"Leave what?" He asked.

"Well… Uhm… The gallery…"

Garry was surprised by Ib's answer.

"Really? I… I think that I must've heard you wrong… That gallery was absolute horror. Things appeared and tried to hurt you. Why wouldn't you wanna leave?"

Ib looked down at the small Ipod she was holding.

"I…" A tear ran down her face. "I want Mary back! I know that she tried to kill us, but I didn't want her to die like that! I never had a friend, and neither did Mary! I wish I could've chose to stay there with Mary, and… Let you leave."

At this point, Ib knew she'd do anything to have her only friend back. She was always picked on because of her red eyes, and everybody avoided her and called her names. Mary looked past that, as being a painting and alone truly was sad.

Garry stayed silent, but still curious.

"I didn't really like the idea of burning her, either. But… When you're at a life death situation, you're going to go to extremes. I promised that I would protect you, and I knew that both of us wouldn't be alive if we had let her go any further. Mary was after us with a knife, and I did the only thing that wouldn't involve us dying."

"I just wish she hadn't gone insane like that. If she hadn't, maybe things would've have turned out better." Ib replied, wiping away her tears.

Garry agreed with a simple "mhm."

"Shit!"

Garry quickly pulled over on the side of the road, and looked over at Ib. Luckily, she was fast asleep. It was nighttime, and they only had a few minutes until they reached Marilyn's house.

Garry got out of the car, using his headlights as the only source of light he had.

_I know I saw something. A person in a dress, but I couldn't see its head…_ Garry thought.

He saw nobody, but on his way back to his car, his foot kicked something.

"Hm?" He picked it up, and walked into his car, and looked at Ib. He shrieked, when he saw her sitting up. She giggled at his response.

"So you're awake now?" He asked, regaining his breath. Ib nodded her head, then pointed at the pamphlet in his hand.

"I dunno what it is, but you tell me when we start driving."

Ib smiled as he handed her the pamphlet. Ib waited to look at it until they got to Marilyn's house. When he pulled up in her driveway, Ib turned on the lights in his car, and read the cover.

"Guertena's Art Exhibit"


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter came a little sooner, as I really wanted to upload the new one ASAP, since I am incredibly bored. I hope this chapter is a little more interesting.**

**I do not own Ib nor the characters.**

Ib's face became pale, and she was frightened, and was too scared to speak. She slowly tapped on Garry's shoulder. He looked over at her her with a smile, which soon vanished.

"What is it, Ib?" He asked, worried by her expression.

She held the pamphlet up to his face, and he grabbed it. His eyes studied the cover of the pamphlet, before cautiously opening up the book.

"We hope that you will come to see the late Guertena's work, as well as some of his prized pieces.

This is the last painting he ever made, and most viewers

find it truly impressive, seeing that he could

capture the ash and broken picture so wonderfully.

Sad to hear, though, one of the sculptures is going to be taken down soon.

So it would be great for you to come and see "Death of the individual" before it is taken down 3 days from now.

We would also-"

Garry shut the pamphlet, and put it into his coat pocket. His eyes were shut, and when he opened them, he looked at Ib. She was very scared, and he felt more afraid than she was, but he had to put on a strong face for her.

"Ib, It's okay. It's all gone, and in this world, they cannot hurt us anymore."

She smiled, seeing that since he had nothing to fear, she shouldn't either. Ib jumped, as a knock came to her door, and she opened it. Her eyes glanced to the girl who looked as old as Ib, standing by the door with a suitcase in her hands.

The girl had blonde hair, that flowed to her elbows. She wore a green dress, with white lace at the bottom, and a blue scarf wrapped around her neck.

The girl smiled nervously, but looked up at Ib.

"I didn't know that you had a friend as old as me, Garry!" She exclaimed. "I didn't expect you to be sitting in the front, since I usually sit there, but I'm okay with sitting in the back!"

Garry got out and put her suitcase by Ib's, then shut the trunk.

Marilyn shook Ib's hand.

"I'm Marilyn! Nice to meet you!"

Ib smiled, and shook Marilyn's hand. Ib's smile faded quickly.

"You're… Not scared of my eyes?" Ib asked, a little sad.

"Of course not!" Marilyn said cheerfully, "In fact, I think that they are very pretty! I just love the color red! It suits you very well! And your eyes are red, which makes them unique! Be happy about it!"

Ib was immediately happy. She had never been complimented on her eyes, and was happy that Marilyn liked them.

"I'm Ib."

Marilyn's grin grew wider.

"What a pretty name! I wish I had your name!"

Ib unbuckled her seatbelt, then slipped out of the car.

"I'll sit in the back seat with you, so that you won't be alone!" Ib's said, taking Marilyn's hand.

"Thank you, Ib! Let's be very best friends!"

"Yah!" Ib happily said.

They sat in the back, and buckled up. Marilyn sat by the window, and Ib sat in the middle beside her. Marilyn looked at the Ipod Ib was holding, and pointed at it.

"I have the same type of Ipod! But mine is yellow, and yours is red!"

Marilyn pulled out her Ipod, with her yellow headphones. Ib pulled out her red headphones, and laughed.

"Same headphones, too!" Ib remarked. They laughed happily.

"Oh!" Marilyn exclaimed, "I have a splitter!"

Marilyn took out her headphone splitter, and she plugged hers and Ib's into it.

"Let's listen to yours first!"

Marilyn plugged the splitter into Ib's Ipod, and Ib turned it on. They listened to Ib's until they had listened to all of her songs. Marilyn and Ib took their headphones off.

"Now yours!" Ib exclaimed.

They had listened to 2 songs, when they came across one that Marilyn skipped the second she saw the title. Ib saw the title too, but was only able to listen to 2 seconds of it.

"Aw," Ib said, "it sounded beautiful, why did you skip it?"

Marilyn looked at Ib, straining to keep her smile on her face.

"I'd rather not listen to it." She said, keeping her smile on.

_Puppet_, Ib reminded herself_, remember it. _When they got to the store, Marilyn and Ib skipped behind Garry, Hand in hand.

"You guys are really good friends, and you met each other 25 minutes ago!" He remarked.

Ib and Marilyn smiled.

"Ooh!" Marilyn tapped on Garry's shoulder, and he spun around.

"Hmm?" He asked.

"We're gonna go look at the stuffed animals, okay Garry?" Marilyn told him.

"I'd rather you not go-"

"Thanks!"

Marilyn pulled Ib along and they got to the stuffed animals. Marilyn pulled Ib over to the stuffed bunnies.

"I always come over here whenever Garry takes me to the store! So don't be afraid, I usually come alone!"

Marilyn picked up a Green one, and handed it to Ib.

"See? Aren't they cute?" Marilyn exclaimed.

"Yes! They're absolutely adorable!" Ib replied.

They laughed and looked at bunnies, and Ib didn't put down the one she was holding. They stopped when a shadow towered over Ib. Marilyn gasped, and Ib turned around. Ib whimpered in fear, when she saw a man in a hood, looking down at her.


	3. Chapter 3

The second Ib spun around, it disappeared.

"Marilyn, you saw that too, didn't you?" Ib asked.

"Yes, but I think we were imagining it!" She said. "I mean, it wouldn't have vanished into thin air like that if it wasn't real, right? Garry may be playing a trick on us…"

Marilyn smiled at Ib, reassuring her.

"Girls," Garry exclaimed, coming up behind them, "I told you not to go over here alone!"

Ib looked down, sad to hear Garry angry at them.

"Hey!" Marilyn yelled at him, and turned to Ib. "Ib, it's fine! He's a grumpy old troll, and had no right to yell at us!"

Garry rolled his eyes, and Ib laughed.

"Now," Marilyn said, "attack him!"

Ib and Marilyn both grabbed bunnies, and threw them at him. Garry shrieked, mainly because he had not like bunnies since the gallery, and grabbed Marilyn's and Ib's hands.

"No more bunnies! I didn't intend to make you sad, Ib. It just worried me a little bit."

Ib still looked sad while picking up the bunnies. Garry saw the green one Ib was holding, and took it out from under her arm.

"I'll buy this one for you Ib, if it makes you feel better."

Ib smiled, and hugged him.

"Thank you!" Ib shouted.

Marilyn sighed.

"Garry, can I get one too? Pleeease!"

"Of course you can!"

"Yay!"

Marilyn grabbed a pink one, but put it back.

"I don't want a bunny though. I want…"

Marilyn reached far behind the bunnies, and pulled out an ugly doll. It was ugly to Garry, at least.

"Ew! I am not getting you THAT. Find something else, Mary."

The second he said it, Ib's eyes widened.

"Sorry, I guess it just kind of came out. Didn't really mean to say it…"

"Who's Mary?" Marilyn asked.

"Nothing… Just an… Old memory, I guess," Garry replied.

"Oh… So… Can I get it? Please?"

Garry sighed.

"Fine, but I better not find that thing alive and following me."

Marilyn squealed with joy, and her and Ib walked hand in hand to the check-out, where they scanned their items, and the clerk gave them their toys instead of putting it in the bag.

The ride home was fine, the girls talking and playing with their stuffed animals.

Later on that night, when they got into their Pjs, Garry set up a movie for them.

"Ib, have you ever seen this movie? It's really great!" Marilyn exclaimed.

Ib was hardly listening.

_What's this? _Ib thought.

She found a small hole in the bunny, and reached her hand inside of the green toy. She pulled out the solid item, and looked at it.

_Why is this in here?_

Ib became shocked, when she remembered the shattering green bunny in the one room full of bunnies.

"_Look, Garry! A purple key in the shards!"_

"_Careful Ib, don't cut yourself on it."_

"_Maybe it goes to that door across the hall!"_

"GARRY!" Ib screamed.

"Ib? What's wrong?!" Garry yelled, as he quickly ran to the living room.

"Th… There's… There was…"

Garry took the metal purple key out of Ib's hand, and looked it over.

"Oh… Maybe all of the bunnies had it?"

_This is too weird. The pamphlet, and now this? What is going on?_ Garry thought.

When the movie ended, Garry put the key in one of his drawers, and left it there.

"I am tired. Let's go to bed now Ib. Is that okay?" Marilyn asked.

Ib nodded, and they set up blankets on the floor, and soon slept.

"_Garry, do we have to?!" _

"_There's no other choice!"_

"_GARRY! IB! DON'T! GET AWAY FROM THERE! IB DON'T! _

_AAAAAH!"_

"Forgive me, Mary!" Ib said, quickly sitting up.

Marilyn was sound asleep, and it was still dark outside.

Ib glanced over towards the clock in the room.

"3:07…" She read.

She crept silently out of the blankets, and put her morning clothes on. A pretty red skirt with a red scarf, white button-up shirt, long black socks, and red shoes.

"I can't sleep anymore. I think I need to…"

She looked at the window. The gallery was far, but if you walked it took only 30 minutes.

"I gotta go back to the gallery! Maybe if I do… I can change what I did.. But I… I wonder if its possible…"

Ib crept out of Garry's guest bedroom, and crept to his room.

"If I am going to return, I am going to need that key…"

She silently checked his drawers, and found the key sitting on top. She put it in her shirt pocket.

"I..Ib? Why are you awake?"

Ib's eyes widened when she heard Garry's silent and tired voice in the darkness of his room.

_Maybe if I'm quiet, he'll think he's imagining…_ She thought.

"Ib or Marilyn, which one are you?" He asked, his voice becoming more awake.

Ib quickly crept out of his room, but heard his bed creak, and Garry sat up.

"Gotta hurry!" She whispered.

Garry had slept in his green tanktop, khakis, brown shoes, and tattered coat. Mainly because he was too tired to change. He quickly slipped on his shoes, and got out of his room, and glanced to the side. He saw Marilyn, standing wide awake in her dress and shoes.

"Ib? Where are you going?" Marilyn asked.

Ib quickly unlocked the door. Garry faced forward, and looked at Ib.

"Ib? What are you doing? It's 3 A.M.!"

Ib ran out the door, and towards the gallery.

"IB!" Marilyn and Garry yelled, and ran after her.

Garry quickly shut the door behind them, and ran quickly after Ib.

"What are you doing? Come back!" Garry yelled.

Ib didn't stop for a second, no matter how tired she got.

She reached the gallery, and found the door surprisingly opened.

_Who hired these people to work here? Somebody could steal the art!_ Ib thought.

The second she ran inside, she looked behind her. Garry's hand tightly gripped her arm.

"Wha…" He huffed and puffed. "Wha.. What is wrong with you?!" He yelled.

"Uhm… Garry…" Marilyn tugged on Garry's arm.

"What is it?" He asked, pulling Ib close to him.

"The door's locked!"

Garry pulled at the door handle, his hand still firmly on Ib's arm.

He crouched down to her level.

"Why are we here?" He asked her.

"I'll do anything to save her! I don't care if you won't let me Garry! Please… Go home once the doors open. I'm going to save Mary."

Marilyn's eyes widened, and she pried Garry's hand off of Ib.

"Ya know, Ib, I was truly surprised you hadn't noticed yet…" Marilyn told her.

"Noticed what?" Ib asked.

"I used the name 'Marilyn' as a cover-up. My true name is really similar."

Ib's eyes met with Marilyn's, and she looked confused.

"My real name is Mary."


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry that this one is a little short, but I wanted to stop it at a sort of cliff hanger dealy. So.. Um.. Yeah!**

**(Just so we're clear, I still do not own Ib. Jus' sayin'.**

Ib remained confused.

"Oh. As in a nickname, right?" Ib asked.

_I am not going to believe that this is truly Mary… Mary…_

"Died? I.. Didn't die, Ib. I mean I did, but one of my 'friends' redrew me! They really had an artists hand!"

"How did you…"

"Sometimes I can read minds, if you are saying your thoughts out loud like you did!"

Mary laughed.

"You… aren't scared of me, are you?" Mary asked.

"Of course not! I promised you we'd be friends, and a promise I will keep!"

Garry pulled Ib away from Mary while they were laughing.

"I want you to explain why this was found outside yesterday. Such a coincidence." Garry remarked.

Mary took the pamphlet out of his hands.

"I don't know why this is here… Maybe it is a 'coincidence.''

"Okay, Mary. I'll let you be, only if you promise you won't hurt Ib."

"Friends don't hurt friends! That is wrong!" Mary replied, taking Ib's hand and pulling her back over.

"You almost hurt her, but I just happened to show up on time!" Garry replied.

"That was when I was just a little insane. I never had a friend, and so I thought Ib would leave me here. So I thought that taking her rose and destroying it, she would have to stay here with me. But now I am welcome, so I have no reason to go insane anymore! Because I have a friend now, and I will treat her right!" Mary did a military salute, and her and Ib smiled happily.

"Garry… Something's wrong…" Ib said, tapping on his shoulder.

"Hmm?"

He looked around. The walls were fading in color, and the door refused to open.

"Everybody stay together! If we're going through the gallery again, let's not split up!"

Garry grasped Mary's hand, and Ib was standing still, frightened.

_I don't wanna go back into that horror place now that I know Mary is safe…_ Ib thought.

'IB!"

Garry and Mary ran to Ib.

"Garry!" Ib yelled.

When Garry reached out his hand and tried to grab her, Ib vanished, and everything in the room was black.


	5. Chapter 5

**This one is a little short, too. Hope you don't mind. I'll try to finish the next one soon!**

**Still don't own Ib, but wondering if I should keep putting that. Probably for the best...**

"Garry? Mary?" Ib cried.

She stood up. Color came into the room.

_Hooray for another horror adventure…_ Ib thought.

"I guess I'll need that…"

Ib walked over to the vase, holding a pretty red rose.

"**I'll take this for you!"**

"What?!"

A ragged blue doll in a pink dress grabbed her rose.

"**How pretty! I wanna keep it!"**

"Give that back! You can't have it!" Ib said, reaching desperately for it.

"**Ohh! I like games! If you play my game with me, I'll give this back to you!"**

"Okay, fine. Seeing as I have no other choice…"

Ib was small and young, but she was very smart.

"**Each time you get something wrong on my game, you lose 1 petal!"**

"That's unfair!" Ib exclaimed.

"**Fine. Have fun finding it!"**

The blue doll threw the rose into the large room with a purple door, and ran inside.

"Man! I guess I'll have to do this!"

Ib went to the door, and put her hand on the knob.

"This knob is cold. Like it's ice or something.."

She pulled open the door, and stepped inside.

"Oh no…"

Ib looked around. There were at least 20 dolls in the room, each one holding a red rose.

"**Won't this be fun to watch?"** One remarked.

"**The only way you'll know is if you check each one and pluck a rose petal, and if it hurts, then it's the right one!" **Another said.

_Then.. That means I'll be wasting one petal… _Ib thought.

She went to the first row.

"This will take a while…"

"Oof!" Garry cried. He looked up. Mary was holding both of their roses.

"Here's yours." She handed him the blue one.

"Thank you." He replied.

"I can't believe my rose is real! It smells wonderful."

Garry smiled, but it faded soon.

"Oh no… Ib! We didn't get her in time! She's wandering all alone!" Garry remarked.

"IB!" Mary yelled. "IB, CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

No reply.

"Now we have to do this all over again. And I only know half of it, Ib solved the first half…" Garry said.

"**Mary?"** A small voice came.

"Hi, buddy." Mary replied. She picked up the blue doll.

"**Why are you here? I thought you escaped when those other people came in here…"**

"Ib ran here to try and save me, but she didn't know that it was me at first…" Mary replied.

"**I'd watch out, though. The guy who you took his place… Found your palette knife! And he's awfully angry at you! I'd get out of here, quick!"**

"We can't! I'm not leaving Ib!" Garry replied.

"Yes. She's my only friend who's a human like me. I can't lose her."

"**I may know where she is, but I'm not telling you!"**

The blue doll stuck out it's tongue, and ran off.

"We can find her on our own, right?" Garry asked.

"Yes, but there's many of places here. And it's dangerous for her to be alone by herself. That guy… He'll kill her if he finds her!" Mary told him.

"Then… Let us start looking!"

"Ouch!" Ib exclaimed.

She had finally found her rose.

"I won your game! Ahaha!"

She walked over to the door, which shut in front of her.

"Hmm…"

She shook the door handle, and it fell off.

"Ah! Hey! I beat your game, now let me leave!" She cried.

"**But… It would be more fun if you played with us forever! Since Mary is gone, we have a new friend! Her name is Ib! Now… Find the doorknob, and you can go free!"**

She felt something wet drip on her.

_Is this paint?_ She wondered.

She looked at what it dropped in her hair.

The droplet was purple, and she looked up at the ceiling.

"**You have 10 seconds to try 5 door knobs! Have fun Ib!" **A doll yelled.

There were 5 dolls all in different parts of the room holding door knobs.

She grabbed the first, and tried it. It didn't open.

She only had a second left, and she grabbed the last door knob.

"It's this one!" She cried.

Just when she had reached the door, a voice rang out, and the knob disintegrated.

"**Aw, too bad. Better luck next time!"**

Ib fell, and everything became black.


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, I think I got this... Fixing it...**

"Ib, please answer us!" Mary called out.

"Please, we need to know if you're okay!" Garry cried.

No reply ever came…

"What if something happened to her," Mary said, starting to tear up.

"We're trying to get to her as soon as possible…" Garry replied.

"**Please don't kill us!" **A distressed voice came.

"Who's there?!" Garry asked.

"**We'll do anything, we promise!"**

"We're not going to hurt you," Mary replied.

"It's coming from around the corner…" Garry whispered.

They slowly walked over to the room over the corner, and the pleas and cries got louder.

They came around the corner, and looked at the room.

Many different statues of the "Death of Individual" were all huddled up together, crying.

"Guys, what's wrong?" Mary asked.

Other paintings like the ladies in red, green, blue, were all comforting them. The painting of the man who juggled was trying to cheer them up with his acts, but it meant little to them.

"**We don't wanna go yet!" **The one wearing the blue dress cried.

"Oh yeah…" Mary grabbed Garry's pamphlet. "It said that the 'Death of Individual' would be taken away soon. 2 days, in fact."

Mary took the one in red's hand.

"It's alright, we'll do whatever we can to keep them from taking you away, okay?" Mary told her.

"**Really Mary?" **

"I promise." She replied.

"I'll talk to the manager, and see what I can do," Garry said, coming up behind them.

"**Thank you, Garry, Mary. Also… Why are you back? Did Ib not come?"**

"Us and Ib got separated. We don't know where she is now. And Mary is back because Ib ran here, and we followed her, and then we ended up back here." Garry explained.

"**Oh, I see. I'd be happy to-"**

Her voice was cut off by a ear-piercing scream, which ended with a gurgling noise.

"**What was that?!"**

"Let's follow it! It could be Ib!" Garry replied.

They ran towards the sound, and stopped when they found it.

"Oh my…"

"Mph!"

Mary clasped her hand over her mouth and sobbed.

"**No! One of our own paintings… WHY?!"**

The lady in blue… More like the lady in red now. She was surrounded by blood. She had been brutally dissected from her painting, half of her body was still stuck in the black frame. She was dead.

"**It.. It was that man! With Mary's Palette knife! He's been killing any painting that crosses his path! You have to leave the second you find Ib! He'll kill you all if he finds you!"**

Garry couldn't bear to see the gross scene, so he grabbed Mary's hand and fled back to the room they were just at.

The sculpture that had came with them told them about it, and some cried, and many gasped.

"We have to go find Ib… I can't wait any longer, she could already be dead by now!" Garry exclaimed.

"Let's go, Garry! Thank you guys, and Bye! We might come see you before we leave!"

They all waved 'good bye,' and Garry and Mary left to go find Ib.

_What's going on?_ Ib wondered.

She was entangled in two large doll arms that were sticking out of the painting that she was pressed against. The arms were tight around her waist.

She looked down.

_My rose! That doll has it! _She thought.

"**How pretty!" **It said.

"Give it back!" Ib yelled.

"**Can you reach it?"** The doll asked, facing her.

She couldn't. Her arms were trapped by her waist, unable to move from the doll that was restraining her.

"No.." She mumbled.

"**Then it's mine!"**

The dolls laughed, but it stopped when a large bang came to the door, followed by multiple bangs.

"**Everyone hide!"** One doll yelled. They all hid in different places, and Ib couldn't see them.

Her rose was on the ground by the door, which busted down in a few moments.

"Ow!" Ib yelled.

The person who busted down the door stepped on her rose. Ib looked across the room, and saw a man holding a palette knife, covered in red.


	7. Chapter 7

He picked up her rose, and twirled it in his fingers.

He looked as old as Garry, 18 or so, and had blonde hair which covered an eye. He wore a hood, but it wasn't over his head. He also wore ripped jeans with the same brown shoes Garry wore. He looked scary, in Ib's opinion. Mostly because he was holding a bloody palette knife.

"This is yours, is it not?" He asked.

Ib nodded her head.

"Just to make sure you're not a painting…"

He plucked a petal off her rose, and Ib cried in pain.

"Oh. So you aren't."

He came over, and looked at Ib.

"Did anybody else come with you?" He asked.

Ib stared blankly at him.

_I don't know who he is… Should I tell him that? He could be like Mary… And escape on his own, leaving only two of us to leave._

"No. I am alone here…" Ib replied.

"Do you remember how you got here?" He asked.

"Everything just faded, and the dolls took my rose. They talked about playing some game, but were very unfair…"

He chuckled.

"Don't trust anything here." He told her.

He stabbed the arms, and they immediately released her.

"Thank you…" Ib told him. "Can… Can I have my rose back?"

She reached for it, but he held it away from her.

"I think I'll hold on to it, and if you try anything funny, I'll rip the top off of this rose," He said sternly.

Ib gulped.

_Is he a painting? I wonder… _Ib thought.

"Are… You a painting?" She asked.

"No… I'm not."

Her gaze kept on the palette knife he was holding.

"Thank you for your help…" She said, and while he wasn't expecting it, she snatched her rose back.

"I think I'll be off now…"

When Ib started to run, his hand firmly grasped her arm.

"Hey! Let go!" She shouted. "I'm not a painting like you, so leave me be!"

She froze after she said that he was a painting.

"It's obvious, Sir, is it not?" She replied. "You kill the people here, right? The people who get trapped here, don't you?" She asked.

_What a strange and ridiculous child. So stubborn and… She doesn't even care that I could kill her…_

"How do you know that others get trapped here…?" He asked.

"Because I've been here before, and I've made it out. But now I'm back here."

He laughed.

"I got trapped here, but this evil child named Mary took my place in leaving, so I guess I'm stuck here…"

He pulled out a rose with no petals.

"No hope for me here…" He said.

He smiled, though, which made Ib scared.

"And I'll take that…" He grabbed Ib's rose.

"Hey!" She exclaimed. "Please! I just want to get out of here!"

"Come with me, and I'll spare your life." He told her.

_Oh great… Absolutely wonderful…_ Ib sighed.

"Look!" Mary pointed, "that room is open… Or… It was pulled right off of its hinges!"

"I don't think we should go near there, Mary… He could be there…" Garry told her.

"Fine then, scaredy cat, I'll go check." Mary said.

"Mary, no!"

Mary pulled away from his grasp, and skipped over to the door, and peeked inside.

"There's nothing there, Garry! So come on!"

Garry walked over, and they stepped inside.

Dolls were surrounding the big painting at the end of the room.

"I HATE this room…" Garry mumbled.

"Because they tried to attack you and make you go insane?" Mary asked.

"Yup. Exactly…"

Garry grabbed a random doll out of the many, and picked it up by the scruff of its dress.

"Alright, Doll, we caught you, now, tell me where Ib is!" Garry yelled.

"**No thank you! We are very busy tending to Big Doll's hole in his arm!" **It said.

"Alright then. Let me get resources…"

Garry held his lighter under the doll, and flipped it on.

"Now, where is she? The answer may save your life."

"**We have no exact answer! Some man with a palette knife came and took her! He also stabbed Big doll…" **

Garry put away his lighter and dropped the doll.

"Oh great…" Garry was worried.

"Ib! That crazy man kidnapped Ib! Garry! He probably killed her by now! What do we do?!"

"We gotta look for her, without giving ourselves away. He'll kill her if we try to kill him first…"

"**AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"**

A scream echoed through the hallways.

"IB?!"


	8. Chapter 8

"...U..Uh…"

Ib was frightened, and watched as the man kept smashing the 'Death of the individual' statue to bits. She walked backwards, still terrified.

"Now…" He grabbed Ib's hand quickly, "I don't think it's smart to take off without your rose. You could find yourself dead if you do…"

They continued walking, and Ib quietly sobbed.

_Garry? Where are you? Please hurry… I'm scared…_

Ib is only 9, and she doesn't know what's going on.

"What's your name?" Ib asked.

"Why do you care?" He asked harshly.

She ripped her arm from him.

She knew it wasn't really smart, but she took off running, with him close behind.

"Owie!" She fell on her face by a hand that shot out of the wall.

"Let go!"

She was kicking her foot wildly, trying to get free of the hand's grasp.

The man chopped the arm off with one swing, and it let go of Ib.

He grabbed Ib and slung her over his shoulder.

"It may not seem like it, but I'm doing you a favor," he said.

"No you're not! You'd be doing me a favor if you let me go and let me have my rose!" She cried.

"Really? You really defended yourself back there with the dolls, didn't you?" He said abruptly.

"Wasn't my fault! I blame the dolls…"

"**Ib! Ib! Where are you?" **A voice echoed.

"Hmm? Who's calling for me?!" Ib yelled.

"**Ib, please answer us!"**

"Guys? I'm here!"

The man put down Ib, and grabbed his palette knife.

_The voice is getting closer, but it's not Garry's nor Mary's…_ Ib thought.

"**Ib?!"**

The thing then came around the corner.

"It's the mimic painting!" Ib exclaimed.

She grabbed it before the man could kill it.

"No!" Ib cried. "Don't touch it!"

"If it's that mimic painting, then what is it mimicking?" He asked. "Your name is Ib, then, correct?"

Ib nodded.

"People are looking for you. You said you came alone, though. So… Who's it mimicking?"

"**Quietly and quickly search for her. We can't be far from him, though. We've seen what he's done and if he hurts Ib at all, he'll pay for it."**

"Sounds like something Garry would say…" Ib whispered.

He grabbed the back of Ib's shirt, and pulled her up.

"Let me guess, I am the 'him' aren't I?"

Ib shrugged.

"Dunno, Mister, I don't know why people would be looking for me, though…"

Ib had decided to play it off as if nobody came with her.

"Let's wait here. Maybe what it is mimicking can't be far off…"

Ib let the painting go, and it ran away.

"Mary! I see something!" Garry exclaimed.

"What do you see?" She asked.

"Not anything that will make you happy…"

He picked a rose petal off the ground.

"Ib… no… Was that her who screamed?" Mary asked.

"It couldn't be… At least I hope… Mary, don't say things like that!"

"Sorry…"

"**Garry, where are you?"**

Garry and Mary jumped at the sound.

"Is that? 'The Mimic' from the second floor?" Garry asked.

"It might be mimicking Ib, listen!"

"**Please hurry. I'm at the corner covered in green. Hurry!**"

"Ib must've used it to send us a message! Which means they came across this painting!" Garry exclaimed.

"Corner covered in green… I know where that is!" Mary said happily. "It's not too far from here. So let's keep going!"

They ran instead of walking, seeing as they needed to get there fast.

"Ib!" Garry yelled.

She turned around, and smiled happily at them.

"Garry! Mary!" She cried.

"Mary?" The man asked, grabbing Ib's arm.

"Oh… Hello again. How nice to see you."

"I thought you said nobody came with you," the man said angrily, tightening his grip on her arm.

"Well, you didn't seem so… Trustable…" Ib said.

"Shawn, cut the crap, and let go of my friend!" Mary yelled.

"Sure…"

He let go of Ib, and she ran to Garry, wrapping her arms around him.

"But I have this," The man said, bringing up Ib's rose. "I don't mind pulling off the last 3 petals she has…"

"Give it back to her, now!" Garry raged.

"One…"

The first petal was plucked off.

"Ow!"

Ib fell to her knees.

"Stop it!" Mary screamed.

"Two…"

Another petal fell.

"QUIT IT!"

Mary ran to him, knocking him over. She threw the palette knife to the side, and threw Ib back her rose, who still clutched tightly on to Garry.

"Mary, use it!" Garry yelled.

"But I… Never did that to a person before…" Mary sighed.

"Just do it! We don't have any other option!"

Mary grabbed the palette knife.

"Ga...Garry? Is she going to…?"

Garry hid Ib's face in his coat.

"It'll be fine…" Garry whispered softly.

"Fabricated world! We found it! Finally…" Garry remarked.

He had carried Ib there, since she was too weak to go all that way.

"The frame… It won't come off!" Mary exclaimed.

"What?" Garry set Ib down for a moment.

"**We delayed the frame coming off…"** A voice boomed behind them.

They turned around, and saw ladies in red, green, and blue, followed by statues and dolls.

"Why?" Mary asked. "I thought we were friends…"

"**We wanted to make sure and remind you that you promised to save us 'Death of the Individual...'"**

"Of course! We promised!" Garry said.

"**Good. But if that promise is broken, then so will she…"**

They pointed to Ib.

"What do you mean?" Garry asked.

"**That she stays here, and if us statues disappear because your promise was kept…**

**That last petal comes off."**


	9. Chapter 9

"You can't do that! We promised that we would do what we can, but it's not for certain that they will take our word!" Garry exclaimed.

"**Just one last petal…" **

The stature held up Ib's rose.

"How did you…?" Mary started

"**You dropped it, and I picked it up. It isn't fair, is it?"**

Ib tugged on Garry's coat.

"It'll… Be fine! They're supposed to take it down tomorrow, and… Talk to them, then they'll re-open the frame for me. I'll see you then, okay Garry?"

Garry's arms wrapped tightly around Ib.

"Stay right here, okay? Stay with the statues…" Garry said.

"**We'll guard her for you. Good luck."**

The frame came off, and Garry and Mary jumped into it.

"**Ib? Are you okay?"**

"They're not coming back… I know they won't… Wish I would've said 'Bye…'"

"**It all just depends on if they save us… Otherwise… You should've said Goodbye…"**

"Uhrm…" Garry looked at his surroundings.

"Mary? What's going on?" He asked.

"Oh… I think it's daytime…" She looked at the glass entrance doors.

"I thought no time passed while we were in the gallery…" Garry stated.

"I...Ib… We have to go talk to the manager!"

They ran around the Gallery, the people giving them glares every 5 seconds for running.

They slowed down to a fast-walk, and bumped into one of the people who worked at the gallery.

"Watch where you are going! There's no running in the gallery!" The worker exclaimed.

"We're looking for the manager. Can you please direct us to him?" Garry asked.

The worker pointed towards the 'Death of the Individual' statues.

"He's looking at those statues. He's trying to see if anybody actually cares about it."

"Thank you!" Garry exclaimed.

The rushed over to the manager.

"My! Please don't run! I'm afraid of you bumping into one of these statues!" The manager exclaimed.

"Oh. Sorry Sir." Mary softly said.

"It's okay! I can see that you wanted to come see me?" The manager held out a hand. "My name is Dave, nice to meet you."

Garry shook his hand.

"I'm Garry and this is Mary, pleased to meet you, too."

Mary shook his hand shyly.

"Mary and Garry. Your names are similar!" Dave smiled warmly.

"We wanted to talk to you about these statues…"

Dave looked happy, pleased to hear somebody wanted to say something.

"We desperately want you to keep these! Please don't take them down!"

Dave clapped his hands together.

"Yes! I was waiting for at least one person to say to not to take them down! Please," He held out a paper and a pen, "sign this! I will turn it into the… uhm… I don't know what their company is called, but they said if I can get somebody else to sign it, then they would re-consider!"

Garry and Mary both signed it, thinking that two signatures would definitely keep the statues here.

"Thank you both! See you later!"

Dave put the pen and paper in his pocket, and went off.

"Okay! Let's go back to the painting!" Garry said happily.

"Why isn't Ib coming?" Mary wondered.

They had been there for 30 minutes in front of the 'Fabricated World' painting.

"Yo Garry!"

Garry shot her a glare.

"Excuse me?"

Garry hated the use of the word 'yo,' since he thought it was improper.

"I meant 'hey,' but that's not it! Look what I found!"

Mary handed him a small paper.

"**If we're still here by tomorrow afternoon, Ib shall be free."**

"Damn it!" Garry banged his fist against the wall.

"I don't wanna leave Ib here though," he said, "So maybe we can stay all night?"

Mary shook her head.

"They're not going to allow that…"

"We've got to! I won't leave her here!" Garry exclaimed.

Mary sighed.

"Fine, but we've gotta hide. They're shutting it any minute…"

Mary pointed to the 'Embodiment of Spirit' sculpture.

"That has a hole big enough to enter it at the stalk, let's hide in there!"

They crawled through the hole in the stalk, and stayed in there.

Hours passed, and they took a small nap in the sculpture.

Mary first woke up, and hit Garry hard on his shoulder.

"Ow! What is wrong with you?" He exclaimed, just waking up.

"Let's go! They're gonna open it, and if people see us come out of the sculpture, we're so dead!" Mary exclaimed.

They crawled out, and stood by the 'Fabricated World' painting.

"Mm…" Ib woke up, and looked at the statues, dolls, and Lady painting all chattering.

"Can… I go home now?" Ib asked.

Everybody stopped talking, and looked at her.

"**Yes. You can, now. Tell Garry and Mary 'thank you' for us. They did us a huge favor."**

The frame was taken off the painting, and Ib jumped out.


End file.
